I know that some of you may already be hunting for the textbooks to be used in your Fall 2012 classes. A word of caution is in order for your Physics 109 class. After quite a lot of hemming and hawing, I have chosen a new text with an online homework package that we will use extensively (homework will count as portion of your final grade and you will need access to this system). Ultimately, I decided on a loose-leaf, three-hole punched version of the text bundled with the online access code that gives you access to the homework system and an e-version of the text with interactive graphics, etc. The bookstore is buying these for $100 from the publisher and marking them up to I don't know what price -- it will be interesting to see. If you want to go completely into the "cloud," you will be able to buy the access code directly from the publisher for $95 -- this gives you two years of access to the homework system and the e-version of the textbook. I will give you the contact information a little later this summer for those of you interested in this (no sense starting the clock early -- go play frisbee instead). Pardon me while I "shout" a little: IF YOU BUY A USED COPY OF THE TEXT YOU WILL STILL HAVE TO BUY AN ONLINE ACCESS CODE FOR $95 IF YOU WANT TO DO HOMEWORK FOR CREDIT TOWARD YOUR GRADE. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me. I am aware that money is painfully tight for many of us, and I am trying to balance cost against learning objectives and methods of assessment. I will repeat this email a couple more times over the next month or so because the powers that be don't give access to D2L until late in the summer. Thanks for listening, and I will see you in the fall. (DR)^2 P.S. The same text will be used for Physics 110 in Spring 2013, and, as noted, your codes are good for two years.
| Lecture: | MWF 9:10-10:10 AM & T 8:30-9:30 in Halsey 107 |
| Laboratory: | Thursdays in Halsey 360 |
| Tutors: | |
| Instructor: | Dennis Rioux (rioux@uwosh.edu) |
| Content: | A survey of mechanics, sound, and thermodynamics that provides a background for advanced work in these fields. The material is developed using a calculus-based approach, and no prior physics knowledge is assumed or required. Recommended for students in pre-engineering and majors in physics. General Physics I is taught using a traditional lecture-lab structure. The lecture periods include in-class activities designed to reinforce the material being presented by the instructor. |
Throughout this semester, I will ask you multiple choice questions based on material that has been presented to you in class. These questions are designed to give you immediate feedback on your grasp of the new material that we cover each day. Your answers are not recorded and your performance does not influence your grade. I hope that you will use them as a tool to help you develop your understanding of physics. The questions will remain accessible from this web page all semester long so that you can review them whenever you like. Click on any of the links below to access the questions.
Jump to question number: 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 101 111 121 131
Jump to today's first question: 1
The java applets that we use in class to illustrate physics concepts can be found here.
| Kinematics | speed & velocity | 1 | Dynamics | projectile motion | 1 | |
| position matching | 2 | forces on a hockey puck | 2 | |||
| position matching | 3 | steering a hockey puck | 3 | |||
| velocity matching | 4 | force & trajectory in 2D | 4 | |||
| acceleration matching | 5 | forces on a space probe | 5 | |||
| vector decomposition | 6 | Waves | waves & pulses | 1 | ||
| v and a in 2D | 7 | traveling waves I | 2 | |||
| projectile motion I | 8 | traveling waves II | 3 | |||
| projectile motion II | 9 | superposition of traveling waves | 4 |
The course syllabus and other documents handed out in class can be accessed from this web page.
There are books and articles that I think are well worth reading if you have an interest in delving deeper into the subject matter of basic physics. Some of these are listed below, and I will bring them to your attention at the appropriate time in class. If there is a subject that you are interested in learning more about but you don't see a reference to it here, please ask and I will try to hunt something down for you.